What's on My Mind....

Linking up with 7 Quick Takes today....and trying to un-jumble the messy head I can't seem to keep myself out of!

#1: Missing Ring

This week I lost my wedding band!! :( The ONLY time I ever take off my wedding/engagement rings is when I make meatballs!  (Well....I also had to take them off during a couple of my pregnancies bc my fingers got too fat. But that isn't relative right now!)

So, on Tuesday afternoon, I was making meatballs. I hate when raw meat that I've got all over my hands gets around my rings and in the stones of my engagement ring. I mean, it's gross, and hard to clean, and I feel like I won't wash it all off well enough and have raw meat germs on my rings, (and fingers)! And, yes, my family will tell you that I have an issue with raw meat....don't even bring up raw chicken!

I didn't even remember taking off my rings, but I'm sleep deprived and dealing with some perimenopause memory loss(see below)! After I finished the meatballs and washed my hands(a couple of times), I reached in my pocket and the only ring in there was my engagement ring?!? What-the-what?!? Well, I looked all over! Swept the floor, peeked under the stove, watched Jay go through the garbage(once I got up the courage to tell him I lost it!).....and the meatballs have all been eaten now so it wasn't hiding in there! So far, my prayers to St. Anthony have gone unanswered!  I'm hoping it's in some stupid place....since I don't even remember taking it off!

Jay and I got married young and we had no money, so it's just a plain gold, "what's the cheapest band you sell", kind of ring. (I wish we had gone with silver, but gold was the "in thing" back in the early 90's!) Jay was concerned at first because I might go out in the world and appear to be single! Thankfully, I still have my engagement ring...which we actually bought many years later at some point when we had a little money...so Jay can rest easy!(bc, you know, there are LOTS of singles ads that read "single male seeking relationship with single woman that has a boatload of children!)

Replacing the "what's the cheapest wedding band you have" ring will cost about $400!!! Yikes...23 years of inflation is a beast! I'm not going to do that....we'll just wait until a big anniversary and get a special wedding band!(hint, hint, Jay)

(and I'll keep praying to St. Anthony..that ring is around here somewhere!)

#2: World Youth Day

World Youth Day will be in Poland in August of next year. Sarah's high school just announced that they are putting together a group to go....and guess who wants to sign up?!? I have VERY mixed feelings about it! I know it would be an incredible experience to be around so many youth that love their faith...and Pope Francis! Jay is 1/2 Polish and has an obsession with St. Pope JPII, so that makes a trip to Poland even that much more special! However...it's going to cost about $5000!!! We have to figure out fundraisers on our own and only have 6 months to raise the money! Then there's the issue that it's in....Poland....and that we would be sending our (by then) 17 yo daughter overseas to hang out with millions of strangers all bombarding a country where we know no one. The "what if's" of my fearful mama heart can get a little loud...."What if she gets sick", "What if someone hurts her?", "What if someone steals her things?", "What if she loses her passport?!", "What if some crazy people plan an attack?". She will be halfway around the world and we won't be there to protect her!

Fear vs possible experience of a lifetime...and the decision has to be made asap.

I like it better when they're little and the biggest decision is to order them vanilla ice cream or let them have the chocolate ice cream that will probably ruin the white shirt that they're wearing!

Not a white shirt...and she was eating chocolate chip pancakes, not ice cream...but you know what I mean! 

#3: Getting Older Part I

Since this is supposed to be 7 "Quick" takes and not 7 "long" takes...I need to move this along! Since I turned 40 fifteen months ago, the adjustment has not gone well! My kids are getting older, I'm getting older, and all of a sudden all the rules are changing! I'm trying to transfer gracefully from a mom with a (seemingly) constant stream of nursing babies and busy toddlers to a mom with less constant hands on parenting. It's not easy! If people ask, "What are your talents?", for the last 22 years the answer would be having babies and caring for young children!

While I knew those years wouldn't go on forever....even though many nights it seemed they might...I'm struggling to redefine myself. My focus and goals have been on helping my kids through all the various phases of childhood that I'm struggling to figure out how to make personal goals for my "second half of life"! Any tips would be appreciated!

#4: Getting Older Part Deux

This whole perimenopause/menopause thing does seem a little unfair. As if hormones don't wreak enough havoc in our lives during our child bearing years! I think I'll have to get Jay on of those books for men to understand exactly what's going on and how to be supportive. Is there a "What to Expect When You're (Peri)menopausing?

#5: Trying to Get Back My Game Day Groove

Fall is Football Sundays! I'm trying to get back into creating some special game time menus! The request for this week: Buffalo Chicken Wings and Mini Meatball Sliders. Now I have to find the recipes.....I SO need to get organized!

#6: Can We Please Start the Fall Weather

The kids are in school...it's time for beach weather to go away! Bring on the 60's! I want to wear sweat shirts and enjoy putting the oven on again! p.s. Fall weather is welcome to stay until April.  There is no need to send Winter this year! Thank-you.

#7: Happy Weekend!

(At least this one was quick!) :)

New School Year Update!

I seriously don't know how time passes so quickly!  I have written so many blog posts in my head that I'm shocked that it's been so long that I've actually gotten anything on my blog!!!

The last 2 weeks of August and the first 2 weeks of September always go by in a blur! Most of my kids are in school....with the exception of my youngest, who is home with me for just one.more.year, and my oldest, who graduated in May. Although Mike hasn't found a full time position, middle/high school history teaching positions are hard to find(!), he is subbing a lot. (So, technically he's in school, too! :)

Andrew is a Junior at UMass Dartmouth! He is majoring in computer science. (Which is good, because now I will have someone to fix my computer when it doesn't work!)

Andrew doesn't "do" pictures-he claims college is "too old" to take 1st day of school pics.
His "mugshot" pose is his form of protest!
My posting this pic is my form of revenge encouragement to smile in the future!

Jon is a Sophomore at UMass Dartmouth. He is majoring in Mechanical Engineering. (I think his choice of major came from all those years of Lego building!)

Thankfully, Jon likes to smile! :)

Sarah is a Junior in high school! Seriously, I can't even believe it! Sarah is a BIG over achiever and has an academic year packed with 4 AP classes plus religion, spanish and a 1/2 year course of computer science. She just wants to learn about everything!

1st day as an upperclassman!

Peter is still in a self contained classroom at our local collaborative.  His start of the year has been a little crazy...all of the other kids have aged out of his classroom and his main teacher is out on maternity leave until Thanksgiving.  After lots of prayer and consideration,(the continual thought in my head was "It's not good that the man should be alone"), Jay and I decided to pursue moving him to a different program. This week we met with our town's new SPED director, which is always a little stressful. The meeting went great and she agreed with our concerns. We will be visiting a new potential classroom on Tuesday morning.

Peter being Peter

Life with Peter is ALWAYS an adventure!

Ellie is in 7th grade at St Francis. She is 1/2 an inch shorter than I am and is really growing up!

Ready to go! :)

Luke is in Kindergarten and doing really well!  He has transitioned great into full days....he loves having lunch at school!

Luke and his cousin, Brayden, waiting in the Kindergarten line! :)

Kate is home with me.  She is missing her playmates, so I have been playing more than my fair share of "dollies" with her.  Not my favorite, but I know next year, when she goes to half day preschool, I will be missing these moments!

Kate and I aren't alone all day.  We have our friend, Declan, that comes to play.(Since my babies are growing up, I need to bring some in from the outside! I don't want my skills to get rusty....eventually I'll have grandbabies! :)

Isn't he a cutie?!?

I'm getting used to everyone's schedules...although clubs are starting next week for Sarah and Ellie so I'll have some adjusting to do! All in all, the school transition has gone pretty well for just about everyone!

On Borrowed Time

I know the end of summer is trying for lots of moms. One of the best things about summer is that everything slows down and there's less of a set schedule.  By the end of summer, that lack of schedule and routine starts to get to everyone I think!

While I miss having a more set routine, I actually love having my kids around me. (OK...honest moment.  I love having all my kids home except Peter!  Peter is hard and I have a whole other post in my head about vacation time with special needs kids! Extended periods of time with Peter 24/7 is challenging.  I love him...but he burns me out.....)

For the rest of my kids....I love the opportunities that summer holds for long, lazy days of swimming and playing and spending time with them.  As summer draws to an end and a new school year is upon us it makes me cringe a little because, by the time summer time rolls around once again, all of my kids will be a year older and everything will change once again! And even though it seems as if each moment will last for ever, it truly doesn't! I have personal experience with that one since we have a college graduate who has recently moved out on his own!!!

This year in particular is a hard one for me.  Luke is going to full day kindergarten.  My baby boy is growing up and I know all too well how fast this next year will go by!  I know I'm on borrowed time!  The little boy, (that slept for the first time in his very own room on the TOP bunk all night long), came into my room this morning so proud of his independence and in the next breath asked me to snuggle.....that little boy is growing up! I'm on borrowed time! I'm still the center of Luke's life but it won't be like that forever.  I'm on borrowed time! I love the relationships that I have with my older sons, but there is no snuggling involved and I'm definitely not the center of their world anymore! (Nor would I want to be bc that would just be unhealthy and weird!) But I still miss the little boys they were!

Since I've had the experience of raising older children, I have appreciated the time I have with my littles so much more!  But it's still going by way.too.fast!

One of the books on Luke's Kindergarten reading list was The Kissing Hand.  We read it last night...and I was holding in tears by the end! It's hard to let your baby grow up!

Seven years ago, I sent Ellie to Kindergarten! She was the baby of our family(at the time) and was our sixth child to enter school.  I had no idea what to do with myself.  Being a stay at home mom with little children had defined my every waking moment for 15 years at that point in my life and in that one moment everything had changed and I felt SO lost!  I started working part time for my parents but I felt like I had no purpose. (I know...it seems melodramatic but it was a huge life change and it was how I felt!) It got better over time. Between late August and early December, I went from feeling like I had no purpose and was just waiting to die to finding a rhythm I enjoyed that included getting to talk to grown-ups in my job, having a little free time to myself to shop and clean, and volunteering at school.

Then, just when I adjusted to my "new" life....I found out I was pregnant with Luke!  God totally has a sense of humor!

Next year, Kate will go to half day pre-school! Knowing this is my last year with her home with me full time is VERY bittersweet!  I'm close to entering another moment in life that will re-define me! I'm on borrowed time! It's really not easy. (Not to mention that next year, Andrew will be a senior in college, Sarah will be a senior in high school and Ellie will be an 8th grader!!!! I'm SO going to need some Valium!)

It's exciting...and it's all good things.  But change is hard!

(And I'm going to miss this little guy!)

A Glance into Summer

Summer always goes by so fast! August mornings usually start off on the cooler side, reminding me that Fall isn't too far away! It's bittersweet!  I LOVE Fall...the weather, the football Sundays, cooking in the oven all the time again, wearing sweatshirts! But, I'm not ready to let go of summer just yet!

Blogging has been on the back burner for me, but here's a look into some of the things that have been taking up our time recently!

#1. Pool Time

(Lots of it!) It's such a blessing to have a pool!  It makes every summer day special!

#2:Celebrating Babies!

My friend, Laura, is expecting her fourth baby in January and let me throw her a gender reveal party!  I love hosting parties...and gender reveals are some of the most fun! Laura is blessed to have three boys so EVERYONE was anxious to find out whether baby #4 was another little he or, just maybe, a little she! I got silly string in the appropriate color and when we all counted to three, her boys gleefully started spraying.......

ONE...

TWO....

THREE...

IT'S A GIRL!!!!
(insert LOUD cheer and a few happy tears shed by many!)

Happy and excited!
 Laura's husband was away on business but he got to see it all through Skype!

 #3: Birthdays!

Last week we celebrated Luke and Peter's Birthday with our families!  This was Luke's gift from us...a digger toy!  He opened it at 7am and spent almost all.day.long playing on it!! At one point in the morning he was playing in full sun and his red, sweaty head told me it was time for a break!  

Me: Luke, go jump in the pool and cool off for a while. You're all hot and sweaty and I don't want you to get sick. 

Luke:  Mom....real construction workers get hot and sweaty all the time.  I'm supposed to be this way!

Me: (laughing) Go jump in the pool anyway!

(10 minutes later he was back on his digger! :)

Peter's airplane cake that Jay's mom made! She is super talented!

Luke's X-wing Fighter Cake!

Peter with his Grandma whose cake he LOVES to eat!

Oh my goodness I can't stand his excited cuteness!

#4: Cousin Time

Luke and Kate are blessed to have cousins their own age who live in the same town!  They get together at least once a week!  This week they came over and Sarah made them a giant fort in the family room!  The kids loved it! :)

#5:Spontaneity

Playing in the rain

 #6: More Baby Celebrations!

Another close friend, Brea, is expecting her fourth baby in just a few short weeks!(gender yet unknown!)  This morning my book club crew celebrated Brea and their new baby with a little "sprinkle". 

Kim and her girls made this cute fruit bowl!

Our beautiful expectant mom!

What does a mom expecting baby #4 need?
 Lots of diapers and wipes..and a couple of books and toys! :)

Most  of us moms...we had a couple missing today!
Book club is definitely more for mom socialization.....
broadening our minds just happens to occur occasionally, too! :)

#7: The "S" Word

I'm trying to put off the "s" word as long as possible!! School for Luke and Ellie starts in less than 2 weeks.  This Sunday is an ice cream social at their school so they/we can meet their teachers and drop off their school supplies. (I haven't bought any yet!) They all need new sneakers, three of them need dress shoes, plus everything on their supply list. (sigh) August is an expensive month!

That's it for now!  I still have about 400 pics to go through from our Vineyard trip in July!  Hopefully I will get around to that sooner than later! (But the way things are going, I'm thinking it will be later!)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

p.s. I'm looking for people that live in/have friends or family that live in Australia or New Zealand! I'm still working as an Independent Consultant for Jamberry and they are debuting in the Aus/NZ markets on October 1st! Super exciting and a great opportunity!  If you, or someone you know, are interested in learning more please contact me!! :) 

Happy Birthday, Luke!

I have completely neglected this blog space!  Life has been full and going by fast in our neck of the woods!  When I think of how many pictures and moments that I want to share it simply overwhelms me!

But, today.....well, today is a very special day!  Our littlest man turns 6 today!!! Six!!! He has to use 2 hands now to show how old he is! And when he smiles, there's a missing tooth and a 1/2 grown in adult tooth grinning back at us!(yeah...that's one of those pictures I've yet to post!)

Today is a day to celebrate!  I feel a little sad that my baby boy is growing up!  Luke is such a special part of our family!  I've been reflecting lately on the gift that he is in our lives, so I thought I'd share a little of that today...in a 7 Quick Takes Friday kind of Way!

Why "bonus babies" are such a blessing....

1. Surprises Can Be Good

6 years and 9 months ago(give or take), we got an early Christmas present.  A few weeks before Christmas, 2008, I realized that there was a strong chance that I might be pregnant.  Ellie, our youngest at the time was 5 and 1/2. After such a long break, (we had 7 children in 10 years before that!), Jay and I both thought that our family was complete.  Obviously, God had other plans!

I was trying to find a moment to tell Jay....when he gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, "Are you disappointed that we never had any more children?" To which I answered, "Well....". Then Jay's eyes lit up brighter than the lights on the Christmas tree and he ran out to CVS for a pregnancy test! (He has no patience when it comes to finding out if there might be a new "littlest Hamel" on the way!)

Luke at 6 months...photo credit Deanna DiMarzio Photography!

2. A New Level of Appreciation

It had been a while since I had been pregnant and had a baby in the house!  After having such a long break between babies, I appreciated and enjoyed Luke's pregnancy a lot more!  I enjoyed each moment in a whole new way. (Well...maybe not the morning sickness...but all the other moments!)  I knew there was a good chance that this could be my last pregnancy, so I tried to see each moment as the gift that it was!

Luke at his 1st birthday!

3. The Appreciation Continues

One of the benefits of having a "Bonus Baby" is that your have the experience of seeing how fast your children grow up!  When Luke was born we had three teenagers!! Mike was 16, Andrew was 14 and Jon was 13.  It didn't seem like that long ago that they were newborns in my arms!  As the song says, "Don't Blink"! With Luke, I knew how fast it would go! So I tried to soak in each experience....I stressed less about getting things perfect and enjoyed living in the moment more!

.....and yet, I still am dumbfounded that my baby boy is 6, losing teeth, and heading to school full time in just a few short weeks!  Sigh...guess I blinked somewhere!

Luke about 2

4.  Family Changes

Luke is one of the best things that has ever happened to our family!  We worried at first how it would work having teenagers and a baby in the house..and all the other kiddos in between!  Teenagers are interesting creatures!  Having Luke when we did kept the teenagers connected to the family in ways that we never would have predicted.  The teenagers didn't want this new little person to not know them as he grew up.  They made sure to be around so they could be a big part of Luke's life! Luke kept his older brothers grounded in our family life in such a unique and awesome way.  I think Luke's birth made his brothers more selfless because they had someone else to focus on other than themselves.

Our boys...Luke at 3 months!  Photo credit: Deanna DiMarzio Photography

 5. Experiencing Things Through A Child's Eyes

It is SO cool to see the older kids want to do things with Luke that they enjoyed doing as a child!  They love watching Luke's reactions to the movies/cartoons that they loved as a child.  They love watching him enjoy the zoo and going to the beach. Going to Disney is SO much more exciting for them because they get to experience it through Luke's eyes, too!  It's so special to see Luke bring out this childlike excitement in his siblings!

Jon and Luke: almost 4

6. How Does It Feel to Be a Hero?  

When Luke was born, ALL his siblings wanted to hold him all.the.time!  Seriously, it was a good thing I was nursing him otherwise the only time I would have gotten to hold him was the middle of the night!! As much as all of his siblings love him, Luke loves all of them with his whole heart.  They are his heroes!  His big, cool brothers and sisters!  They surprise him with trips to the park, zoo, ice cream store, and the occasional toy store visit for Legos!  They play with him in the pool and make up games in the yard!  They run around the house "pew-pewing" with their Lego creations.(and Luke loves that Andrew and Jon have super cool Lego sets that they let him play with...and that they play right along with him!) 

Luke looks up to his siblings as his heroes!   That makes all his siblings feel pretty special and important!  What does it take to be a super hero? Just spend time with a 'bonus baby' sibling!

Kate, Mike, and Luke, 5 1/2

7. Just Because He's Luke!  

The biggest reason our 'bonus baby' is a blessing?  Because he's Luke!  Luke is our truck loving, Light Saber wielding, Star Wars watching, Lego building little goofball who is so incredibly loving and lovable!  He is so expressive and silly that we often question whether he might be part Muppet!

Luke is clumsy and awkward and happy and loving.  He still loves to snuggle and ALWAYS wants to play with Jay and build Star Wars Ships and construction trucks every moment of every day!  

Luke is such an easy going little guy! He gets so excited about things he loves!(aka trucks, Star Wars, and Legos). He is a very patient and loving big brother and such a joy to our family!  I cannot imagine our lives without him!  

I am so grateful that God blessed our family with this very special bonus baby! We all love him so much!

Luke...2 days before he turned 6!

Happy Birthday, Luke!

Now I just need to figure out how to stop blinking....My baby boy is growing up!     

Summer and Care Free Timelessness

I have totally neglected my blog space the last few weeks!  I've had lots of posts written in my head....but never found the time to get them down on paper!  June is a crazy month for us....so I have lots to catch up on!  I'm hoping a little time spent on posting today will get me back into some kind of blogging rhythm!!!

With school ended and summertime in full swing, I'm trying to figure out our new routine!  I love the slow rhythm of summer....the more relaxed mornings and the extra free time throughout the day!  Once I help Jay out of the house in the morning, the littles and I eat a leisurely breakfast and hang out in our jammies for much of the morning if we don't have any plans.  I love that we were outside at 8am this morning and they were playing in the sandbox in their pajamas!  To me, that just screams summer!  So does the multiple times in the pool throughout the day!  I love that!

Having some kind of structured activity or adventure a couple of days each week is important, too!  Sometimes I need a reason to get out of the house and the kids need a change of scenery so that the days we are home in our jammies for too long or spending lazy afternoons in the pool stay special...and don't become the dreaded "B" word! (boring;)

With a very tight budget and the challenge of having multiple kids over such a variety of age ranges, finding things to do that are fun for the majority and affordable can be tough!  Plus, I don't want to get overwhelmed by all the things I COULD do with them.....I need to leave time for jammie mornings and pool afternoons, too!

What's a mom to do, right?!?

Well, so far, I've decided to just enjoy my kids, pray for what the best activity for us that day is, and see what happens!  You know what? It's been working so far!

The littles have had a couple of play dates, Ellie was invited to sleep over a friend's house, we've gone to the library, had a rainy day movie afternoon with the video we rented from the library, we went out for ice cream once(so far!), and we had a picnic at the beach!   Today I found out there was a circus in town! Since Jay doesn't work tomorrow, he said it would be a fun way to start the long weekend. I will pack some water bottles and we will get a few snacks to share tonight!   So the kids might be tired and cranky tomorrow, but we will have some exciting family time tonight! Bonus...they offered a family coupon, so it was affordable!

Our local theater is offering free movies a couple of mornings each week. They are repeats, but it's still a fun thing to do! I'm planning on using that as an outing most weeks.

My sister sent me info on a local AHA! that's all for kids next Thursday from 5-9.  There are all kinds of activities from touch tanks and rock walls to Lego building stations and Pirate activities.....and Portuguese food. (That will be Jay's inspiration to go!)

I want the summer to be fun and to do things with the kids....and I want to have that carefree timelessness that lazy summer days are known for to recharge before the school year arrives again and busy, busy, busy takes over!

Every year, summer starts and I feel like we have so much time!  Then it ends, and I lament how fast it went and that we didn't do more!  This year, I'm hoping to have a better balance so that, when the summer ends, I can look back at it feeling grateful for the time we had together and the fun memories we made!

Luke loves pool time with Daddy!

How Do You Show Love A Thousand Ways?

Today is a special day in our house.....Jay's Birthday!  Last year was a BIG birthday with lots of fanfare!  This year, Jay's birthday is much more low-key with only some of our immediate family coming over for a cook-out tonight!  This year, I had no great ideas for a special gift.  I was a pretty boring gift giver!  Jay has mentioned in the past few weeks about buying some new three button polo shirts and socks.  So I got him those.....Exciting, huh!?! The only thing he really wanted was a particular book..so I got that for him.  There just wasn't a whole lot of inspiration for me this year!

So....I'm trying to make him feel special today!  While tonight's food will include the usual hamburger, hot dog, and linguica cook-out fare, I also plan on making ribs that have a homemade rub! Our sides will be loaded mashed potatoes and my sil is bringing a salad. My mother-in-law is making the cake(her specialty) and I bought Jay his favorite homemade ice cream, coconut almond joy!  Hopefully, it all comes out ok!!! You know what they say...."The way to a man's heart is through his stomach"!

I am so blessed to have Jay as my husband!  He is incredibly loving, selfless, hard-working, and faithful! He is an amazing father to all of our crew....and constantly gives his all to meet all of their needs andto be physically and emotionally present when they need him.  Whether it's playing princesses with Kate, building Star Wars Lego creations with Luke, and doing any myriad of activities with the older kids...basketball, throwing a baseball around, scooter rides, running, or bringing them out for wings, or a pizza, or a beer(!) bc one of the boys wants to talk....Jay is always there for them.  (Even when he would rather be working on one of his woodworking projects or just relaxing on the couch!)

"A picture is worth a thousand words"....so here's several thousand words worth of why Jay is so loved around here!

1/1 time with Andrew

Daddy and his girls

1/1 time with a shared favorite sports activity!  Go Sox!

One of the countless date nights we have shared with nursing little ones that included grocery shopping!

Luke's favorite past time!  Lego building with Daddy!

Jay loves babies!

Loves time with his girls...

...and his boys!

Keeping it goofy!

Jay just loves spending time with his family!

Eating + family time is even better! ;)

So strange to have a beer with your child who is old enough to drink!

Daddy snuggles are the best!

Daddy with a very little Sarah!

Jay loves us all so much....It's nice to be loved back!

And he certainly is loved!

Happy Birthday, Jay!  I hope today will be a day where you feel as loved as you are!